Title: Claiming Marcus
Series: Lords of Discord #1
Author: Jocelynn Drake
Publisher: Indie
Release Date: 10/31/2019
Heat Level: 3 - Some Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 100,000
Genre: Romance, paranormal romance
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Synopsis
Vampires slaughtered my family.
No one believed me until I met some new
friends, who promised to help me get justice.
But nothing prepared me for Marcus
Varik.
Tall, dark, and mind-numbingly sexy.
But he’s also shy, protective, and
adorably eccentric.
Oh God, I should have never agreed to
betray him.
Hopefully, it's not too late to fix my
mistake before I lose more people I love.
Claiming Marcus is the first book in an
MM paranormal romance series that has vampires, betrayal, annoying brothers,
music, heartbreak, hope, sexy times, and a raven named Ozzie.
Excerpt
Ethan wanted to feel panic and fear when
he stared at Marcus. There really was no doubt in his mind that Marcus and his
brothers were vampires. A sane person would have taken his brother to a
hospital. Ethan hadn’t seen the actual wounds, but just the amount of blood he
cleaned up meant that Bel had been seriously injured. No one could heal from
that without medical assistance.
And yet, just an hour later, Bel’s color
was starting to improve. He was resting on the couch, his breathing falling in
a steady rhythm.
Looking at the aristocratic creature
seated on the piano bench, streaked with his brother’s blood, Ethan couldn’t
see anything but a man exhausted and hurting in ways that he couldn’t fully
understand. He trusted Marcus to not harm him. He’d already gone out of his way
to protect him from Meryl and Cain.
Ethan wanted to take care of Marcus. It
was clear that he was the family protector. He was the one who made the hard
decisions and directed the others in order to get things done and keep them
safe. But who was there to take care of Marcus?
Taking Marcus’s bloody hand in his,
Ethan pulled him to his feet and led him out of the music room. He paused in
the hallway. The third floor held four rooms with locked doors. One of them was
Marcus’s private bedroom, but he didn’t know which one.
“Here,” Marcus said, pointing to a pair
of double doors farther down the hall.
Ethan nodded and led the way, pulling
the keys Marcus had given him out of his pocket. He unlocked the doors and
pushed them open. There was only one small lamp on the nightstand burning, but
it was enough to illuminate the large room with an enormous four-poster bed and
a long bureau made of a dark wood. The walls were a dark blue with white trim.
The carpet under their feet was so thick it was almost like walking on a cloud.
“Thank you, Ethan,” Marcus murmured. He
squeezed Ethan’s hand before releasing it. “You can sleep in the green room if
you’re too tired to return home. And you don’t have to come in to work
tomorrow…or rather today. You need your rest.”
Ethan turned and smirked up at Marcus.
“Work, huh? I thought I was fired.”
Marcus gave him a tired little smile. “I
don’t think I technically fired you. Just threatened to do it.”
Taking a step closer, Ethan slowly
reached up and touch the top button on his stained shirt. “Well, I think I’m
technically here as a friend, because if your employee did this…” Ethan paused
and slipped the first button through the hole. “We’d have to deal with a whole
lot of HR shit, and we don’t want to do that.”
Marcus swallowed hard, staring at Ethan.
He licked his lips as his breathing picked up, but he didn’t say anything to
stop Ethan. Yeah, Marcus was attracted to him. Ethan thought he’d picked up a
few little tells over the past couple of weeks, but Marcus was overall very
careful. The guy was stuck so far in the closet, there was little hope of him
ever seeing daylight.
But this wasn’t about Marcus exploring
his sexuality. There was still the issue of him being a vampire and holding
knowledge of his mother’s killer. This was about Ethan seeing that Marcus got
some well-deserved rest.
Still moving slowly, Ethan lowered his
hands and unbuttoned the next three buttons before Marcus finally moved, capturing
both of his hands in his.
“Ethan?”
“It’s okay,” he said, giving him a
reassuring smile. “I’m just helping you. I’m going to turn on the shower and
get the water to warm up. Do you want me to help you finish getting undressed?”
Marcus’s mouth dropped open and sort of
soundlessly bobbed for a second like he couldn’t get the words out.
Ethan chuckled. He was so damn attracted
to this man, to this vulnerable side that he was sure his brothers didn’t get
to see. Ethan pulled his hands free and resumed unbuttoning his shirt. He
pulled the shirt free of Marcus’s pants to get the last couple of buttons.
Hours ago, Marcus had rolled his sleeves up his forearms so that all Ethan had
to do was run his palms up Marcus’s strong chest, reveling in the feel of hard
muscle. A low groan rumbled in Marcus’s throat and that sound sent blood
rushing to Ethan’s cock. Fuck, that was an amazing sound. He smoothed his hands
across Marcus’s shoulders, pushing the shirt down his arms and to the floor.
“Ethan…I…”
“Shhh,” Ethan murmured. “Nothing is
going to happen. You’re safe.” He leaned up on the tips of his toes and pressed
a light kiss to Marcus’s throat. Strong hands immediately clamped down on his
hips, holding him in place. Fingers dug into his ass and Ethan nearly moaned.
He’d die to feel those hands all over his body. Just the thought had his cock
stiffening.
“Not sure if the promise of nothing has
me relieved or disappointed,” Marcus admitted in a shaky voice. He looked down
and Ethan could feel the slight tremor creeping through Marcus’s muscles.
“I’ve…I’ve never—”
“I know,” Ethan interrupted. “That’s why
nothing is going to happen.” Well, one of the reasons, at least. “You need
someone to take care of you tonight. Shower and then bed. Once you’re tucked
in, I’m going to head home, but I’ll return later today.”
Sadness crept into Marcus’s blue eyes,
but there was also relief there. He nodded and released Ethan.
“Finish getting undressed, my sexy
friend,” Ethan said and sauntered toward the open door across from the bed. He
was guessing it was a private bathroom.
He flicked a switch and sucked in a
harsh breath as buttery light cascaded over warm marbled and gold fixtures. The
bathroom was almost as big as his old apartment. There was a large garden tub
that could easily fit three full-grown men, a double sink vanity with a long
mirror, and a shower stall that had enough space and heads to cover the same
three men who just climbed out of the tub.
There was muffled thump on the floor and
Ethan guessed that Marcus had dropped a shoe. “Are you so touchy-feely with all
your friends?”
Ethan laughed as he walked over to the
shower. “Would you be jealous if I was?”
“Yes,” Marcus hissed, and that single
word wrapped in a possessive tone warmed Ethan like nothing else could. He’d
had more than a few sexual partners in his life, but no one he’d call a
boyfriend and no one who ever felt possessive. He was just a warm body, a tight
hole, a great mouth to fuck.
But with Marcus, he felt like more.
Opening the door, Ethan turned the
handle, starting the shower. He stuck his hand in the spray, checking the
temperature. Still cold. He started to turn to make sure that Marcus had a
clean towel, but he jumped when he found Marcus standing directly behind him.
The man had moved so silently and so fucking quickly. How had he not noticed
him?
Because he’s a vampire.
Oh, yeah. Ethan’s brain kept
conveniently forgetting that little fact.
It was even easier to forget when Marcus
was standing just a couple of inches away, wearing only a pair of black boxer
briefs. He was pale, but it didn’t detract from his beautiful body. Every inch
of him was hard. Every. Fucking. Inch.
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Meet the Author
It started with a battered notebook. Jocelynn Drake wrote her first story when she was 12 years old. It was a retelling of Robin Hood that now included a kick-ass female who could keep up with all the boys and be more than just a sad little love interest. From there, she explored space, talked to dragons, and fell in love again and again and again.
This former Kentucky girl has moved up, down, and across the U.S. with her patient husband. They’ve settled near the Rockies…for now. She spends the majority of her time lost in the strong embrace of a good book.
When she’s not hammering away at her keyboard or curled up with a book, she can usually be found cuddling with her cat Demona, walking her dog Ace, or flinging curses at the TV while playing a video game. Outside of books, furry babies, and video games, she is completely enamored of Bruce Wayne, Ezio Auditore, travel, tattoos, explosions, and fast cars.
She is the New York Times Bestselling author of the urban fantasy series: The Dark Days series and the Asylum Tales. She has just completed a gay romantic suspense series called The Exit Strategy about two assassins falling in love and trying to create a life together. Her newest project returns to her vampire roots with a new MM paranormal romance series. She is also the co-author of the Unbreakable Bonds, Ward Security, and Pineapple Grove series with Rinda Elliott.
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